MILAN (ITALPRESS) – The ecological transition of the Italian production fabric has entered a phase of consistency and stability in which sustainability has become part of corporate culture and management choices, with a pragmatic and structured approach. Under the drive of energy relapses, geopolitical instability, regulatory constraints and increasingly stringent credit access, companies integrate sustainability directly into core business and industrial processes. With increasingly strict attention to the economic account to the business benefits that sustainability investments can generate.
This is the main picture that emerges from the 5th Edition of the Observatory Clean Technology 2026, the extensive monitoring carried out by Eumetra for Haiki+ and Circularity, conducted on a statistical sample of 400 pmi and large Italian companies. This year’s research highlights how environmental issues are no longer lived as a trend of the moment, but as a rigorous management and economic need.
‘The results of the Observatory show an increase in the Italian business fabric: sustainability is no longer addressed as an accessory element, but as an integral part of industrial strategies. To consolidate this path, it is essential to be able to count on reliable data, shared criteria and measuring instruments that can enhance business investment and counter environmental communication practices not supported by scientific evidence. Today transparency is an essential lever to accompany the competitiveness and ecological transition of the country,” said Maria Alessandra Gallone, President of ISPRA.
The main criticism encountered in the past editions is finally overcome in 2026 by a strong strategic breakthrough: 63% of Italian averages and large companies today have an industrial plan with clear strategic directions to medium-long term on sustainability, marking a net doubling compared to 35% recorded in 2025. The ecological transition becomes a structural asset also on the agenda: 57% of large companies have a function or an internal department specifically dedicated to assessing and managing green issues. 2026 photographed a highly active business fabric, with 79% of companies that made at least one investment in sustainability. However, the international scenario and uncertainty about energy costs push enterprises towards a strict selection of expenditure chapters. Investments focus dramatically on cost containment and energy autonomy. The companies choose renewables against high energy: 76% made investments in energy efficiency in 2026 (versus 65% of 2025), with 7 out of 10 companies that installed photovoltaic panels. In addition, 78% of the sample considers renewables the key to national competitiveness and energy independence.
While the share of companies considering environmental protection (67% versus 52% of 2025) and the reduction of waste (65% versus 58% of 2025) is an absolute priority for the country, the economic urgency has led to the reduction of CO2 (from 26% to 15%) and has caused a contraction of total investments in circular economy, fell from 27% last year to 14%. Nevertheless, those who continue to invest in circular economy do so in a structured way, with a medium-long period perspective and interventions that for 6 out of 10 companies require a re-design of production processes.
The focus remains on recycling waste and production waste for virtually all companies surveyed (96%), waste monitoring (for 9 out of 10 enterprises) and recycled materials supply (8 out of 10 enterprises). The main barrier remains the economic cost: for 86% of companies recycled materials involve higher costs than traditional virgin raw materials (such as plastic).
Among the companies investing in the green grow significantly the use of environmental certifications (60% versus 41% of 2025). The increase reflects a European regulatory environment increasingly oriented towards transparency and verification of environmental performance. In this direction, D.lgs. 30/2026, in force since 27 September, which transposes Directive (EU) 2024/825 and introduces stricter rules on environmental communications for consumers, limiting the use of generic environmental statements when not supported by verifiable evidence, third-party certifications or recognized recognition systems.
Green investments prove profitable: 67% of companies have already fully achieved the economic benefits expected from their commitment, a leap of +12 percentage points compared to 2025. These benefits translate into a concrete saving in terms of operational efficiency (which for 64% of enterprises stands between 1% and 5% of annual turnover) and a significant improvement in overall profitability (indicated by 38% of the sample, +4 percentage points).
The strategic importance of sustainable finance is growing in parallel: for 3 out of 10 companies, green commitment has led to better access to credit (+9 percentage points compared to 2025), in particular through access to dedicated loans (18%). This data seems to explain the new and strong involvement of the corporate administration function (which rises to 33% direct involvement, +14 percentage points compared to 2025) in the management and reporting of ESG data. The adoption of sustainable business models has a strong external appreciation: 63% of companies declare that their efforts are recognised, first row by customers and consumers (71%) and their employees (36%).
For the future, the general macroeconomic instability (international conflicts, inflation, duties) generates a widespread caution: about half of the sample (51% overall between 12% which provides reductions and a 38% that is likely to delay) hypotheses a slowdown or a remodelling of the expenditure volumes foreseen in the next two years.
“The data of this fifth edition of the Clean Technology Observatory certify the end of the green enthusiasm phase and the beginning of what we can define the sustainability of the ‘solid realism’,” said Giovanni Rosti, CEO of Haiki+. “In 2026 companies don’t invest for the image, but integrate energy efficiency, circular economy and ESG metrics directly into the operational and management structure of production, driven by the vital need to cut operating costs and meet the stringent requirements of European banks and regulations. To support this effort it is now vital that national and European industrial policies intervene to regulate the costs of recycled raw materials, allowing the circular economy to return to running and impose itself as a market standard,” he added.
“Without its fifth edition, the Observatory demonstrates the great capacity for adaptation and resilience of our production system in an unstable international context – said Camilla Colucci, founder and CEO of Circularity. Although the high bills have temporarily curtailed the spread of the circular economy in favor of energy efficiency, enterprises that continue to circulate do so with structured, medium-long-term projects, which require a redefinition of industrial processes. In this phase of consolidation and realism, there is still a lot to do and entrepreneurs need to be guided and supported to be able to transform operational and regulatory constraints into value, clean and certified.”.
-Photos Haiki+ and Circularity-
(ITALPRESS).
